Blush
by vivaforever597
Summary: On a trip into the city, Ikki befriends a scruffy, skinny boy. Over the years, they become friends - and maybe something more.


_I think I'm one of very few people who ships this, but this idea popped into my head the other day, and I just had to write it!_

_Some elements of the third section are inspired by Sara and Andrew's relationship in Robert Newman's The Baker Street Irregular book series._

* * *

The first time Ikki met Skoochy was on a tour of Bolin and Mako's old stomping grounds.

With Korra and Tenzin away for the day meeting with the Order of the White Lotus, the brothers took it upon themselves to show the airbender children and Asami the parts of Republic City with which they were still unfamiliar. For Bolin, this was an opportunity to revisit the city's seedier quarters, meeting his old friends again. And though Mako vociferously disapproved of taking the children there, he eventually gave up against Bolin's sweetness and tenacity. And after all, as Bolin reasoned, they did have three responsible adults to look after them...

The flaws in Bolin's plan, however, became quickly apparent after the group watched a trained lemur give a performance (not unlike the ones Bolin and Pabu put on, Mako thought). Mako did a quick assessment of the three kids: Jinora was buried in her book as always; Meelo was excitedly jumping around Asami, imitating the lemur; and Ikki was... not in sight.

Mako panicked. In this section of town, there was no telling what trouble Ikki could get into, particularly given her penchant for curiosity. But before he could even alert Bolin and Asami, he was relieved to hear her voice.

"What do you do all day?" she was demanding. "Why are you dressed like that? Don't you have anything better to do than sit around?"

Mako quickly walked toward her, and as the people between them sauntered out of his line of vision, he was both relieved and annoyed to see whom she was speaking to.

"You ask too many questions," Skoochy replied.

Mako ran over and grabbed the young girl by her arm. "Ikki!" he scolded. "In places like this, it's important to stick with the rest of us. And anyway, you shouldn't bother people with such personal questions —"

"The dame wasn't botherin' me," Skoochy interrupted. "We was just beginnin' a conversation."

Mako glared at him. "Come on, Ikki," he said with a resigned sigh. "We'd better be going."

"But I want to talk to him!" Ikki protested with a pout. When Mako refused to give a response to this, she decided it was easiest to go along with him. "Bye, street boy!" she called cheerfully with a wave as she was led away. And though she didn't say it out loud, in her mind she was already planning to see her would-be friend again.

**#####**

The next time they talked, Ikki was twelve, exploring the city despite her parents' objections.

She walked out of a toy shop, clutching a set of marbles she'd bought with her pocket money: she had never had her own set, instead borrowing Jinora's. Marbles were a somewhat old-fashioned toy, yes, but Ikki enjoyed practicing her airbending by doing tricks with them. Besides, they always reminded her of Tenzin's stories of her grandfather, Aang...

Ikki lost herself in her thoughts, wondering if Korra could do those airbending tricks. _Maybe I could teach her!_ she thought excitedly.

Ikki allowed herself to become so distracted that she barely looked at the people around her and quite literally bumped into one of them.

"Oi!" the boy cried. "Why don't you look where you're going?"

"Sorry!" Ikki replied. "I was just —" She broke off as she recognized the boy. He was cleaner and neater than the first time they'd met, but still she placed him almost immediately. "Aren't you Mako's friend?" she asked, though she was sure of the answer.

"Sure am," Skoochy replied with a smirk.

"Why are you around here?" Ikki frowned. "I thought he and Bolin got you a little job at the arena."

"It's my day off," he replied with a toothy grin. "Want to share it?"

Her parents probably wouldn't approve, Ikki thought. But she had to make friends somehow unless she wanted her siblings to remain her only playmates...

"Sure!" she answered, slightly surprising Skoochy with her enthusiasm. "I can show you my airbending tricks!"

"Oh, hooray," Skoochy said sarcastically. But silently, he was a bit excited to see an act of airbending, and from this interesting new friend, no less.

Slightly to Skoochy's surprise, Ikki proved to be a very interesting playmate. After spending much of the day together, Ikki took her leave, realizing that if she didn't, she wouldn't be home in time for dinner.

"It was nice being with you!" she chirped. "Let's meet again! It's fun to have a friend."

"Yeah," Skoochy replied as his heart fluttered. "Friends are nice."

**#####**

Ikki and Skoochy quickly fell into a regular pattern: each Tuesday, they'd meet and spend the day together, sometimes going to a zoo or museum, sometimes just sitting at Ikki's home or the arena.

It was little surprise, then, to Tenzin and Pema when Skoochy became a regular guest at dinner. And though Tenzin was at first anxious that Ikki was so close to an outsider, Pema encouraged the friendship, knowing how important it was to Ikki's growth.

A few years passed, and as Ikki and Skoochy passed into puberty, they found a new element of awkwardness in their friendship, with neither quite sure how to address the other.

Ikki unintentionally resolved the problems one day when Skoochy arrived at Air Nomad Island as normal. In a surge of affection, she ran and hugged him. Skoochy, however, hugged her only lightly and briefly, then shook her off, frowning. "I thought girls weren't supposed to like boys," he said. "Jinora always says that boys are a waste of time."

Ikki laughed. "Jinora thinks almost anything that's not in a book is a waste of time!" she exclaimed. "Besides, you didn't hear her talk about boys a couple years ago. She's just going through a phase, like Asami says it."

Skoochy acquiesced. "I just don't want to not be friends anymore," he confided.

"Well, of course we're still friends!" Ikki trilled. "Let's be friends forever!"

After that, Skoochy never worried about their friendship failing. But as they grew ever closer, Tenzin and Pema were left to wonder just what the nature of their relationship was...

**#####**

A few more years passed, and as Ikki grew into a young woman, she found herself wondering about what would become of herself and Skoochy. She decided she'd have to raise the matter with someone she trusted, someone who might have insights for her. Someone, she thought, like Asami.

After the short trip into the city, she found herself knocking on Asami and Bolin's door. Asami answered quickly, smiling when she saw Ikki on her stoop. "Hi, Ikki," she said pleasantly. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Ikki chirped. "But... could I talk to you about something?"

"Of course." Asami opened the door fully to admit her guest, then ushered her into the small living room. "What's going on?" she asked kindly as they made themselves comfortable.

"Asami … what do you do if you're not sure how you feel about someone?" Ikki began.

Asami pondered the question. "Do you mean you're not sure if you like them?"

Ikki blushed. "Well, I know that I like him. I'm just not sure how."

Asami smiled knowingly. "It's Skoochy, isn't it?"

Ikki giggled, a bit nervously. "Yes. Most of the time, I just want to be around him to talk. But sometimes I get a feeling that —" she broke off. "You'll think this sounds silly, she muttered.

"I'm sure I won't," Asami assured her.

"Well, I feel like he could be _the boy_ for me," Ikki said.

"'The' boy?"

"Yeah, you know! The boy you fly into the sunset with and build a castle of love in the clouds with and stay in love with forever and ever!" Ikki exclaimed, her voice gaining in speed and raising in pitch, as she unintentionally swirled the air around herself. A smile tugged at Asami's mouth. "Metaphorically, I mean," Ikki added quietly.

"Well," Asami began, "You know Bo and I were friends — good friends, even — before we fell in love. And I wouldn't have wanted it any other way, really."

"But how did you _know_ you were in love?" Ikki demanded.

Asami shrugged. "It's hard to define, Ikki," she explained. "I think when I knew it was when I realized that Bo was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

"But you were in love with Mako! I bet you didn't think you wanted to spend your life with him," Ikki argued.

"You're right," Asami sighed. "But if you'd asked me at the time, I probably would have said I would've been happy to love him forever. It's different each time, Ikki."

Ikki frowned. "How am I supposed to know how I feel, then?"

"Don't overthink what your heart is telling you," Asami concluded. "And if I may say so, Ikki, if you're questioning whether or not you're in love, you probably are. A little bit, at least."

Ikki smiled shyly. "You're probably right," she admitted. "But what should I do about it?"

"That is entirely up to you. You can tell him how you feel, or you can try to keep it inside."

"But how can I tell him how I feel when even I'm not sure?" Ikki pouted.

Asami chuckled. "Maybe you just have to try your best. I'm sure he'll understand."

"I suppose." Ikki shook her head. "Why does it have to be so hard?"

Asami squeezed her hand. "I don't know, Ikki. But I know that sooner or later, it'll be worth it."

**#####**

Ikki saw Skoochy again the next night. As they talked about Skoochy's job and gossiped about the girl Meelo had been chasing after, her conversation the previous day with Asami stuck in Ikki's mind. Then, during a lull in the conversation, she suddenly realized what she wanted to do. She had, after all, never been one for subtlety...

"Skoochy?" she said, prompting him to turn and face her.

"Yeah?" he replied, expecting her to say something more.

Instead, she gently grabbed the back of his head, then turned her own as she pressed her lips to his. At first, his eyes widened in shock, but he quickly relaxed, and returned her embrace.

After they pulled away, each smiled lovingly, if a bit shyly, at the other. "That's how you feel?" Skoochy murmured.

Ikki grinned. "Yes. It is!"

Then, as Skoochy nestled his head against her shoulder, she created a cushion of air beneath them, then raised them above the air temple. Skoochy didn't seem unnerved by the sudden height, but only tightened his grip around Ikki's shoulders. Ikki giggled, and as they began to kiss again, she realized that she knew exactly how she felt about Skoochy. He wasn't only her best friend, or even her lover. He was her soul mate. Her forever boy.


End file.
